Journalist association members detained<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City police have detained for questioning five
\nmembers of the Alliance of Independent Journalists for the
\nalleged production, distribution and marketing of an unlicensed
\npublication.<\/p>\n
\"We're still questioning all of them and making an in-depth
\nstudy of the contents of their unlicensed bulletin,\" the head of
\nthe City Police Crime Investigation Directorate, Col. Nurfauzi,
\nsaid yesterday.<\/p>\n
The five detainees have been identified as Ahmad Taufik, Eko
\nMariyadi, Danang, Jimmy Sahir and Abdul Haris.<\/p>\n
Nurfauzi said police held strong suspicions that the five had
\nplayed a part in the publication, distribution and sale of the
\nIndependen bulletin, a publication of the Alliance of Independent
\nJournalists (AJI).<\/p>\n
The alliance, which was founded last year after the banning of
\nthree Indonesian newsweeklies in June, has not been recognized by
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
A reliable AJI source said yesterday that Taufik and Eko had
\nbeen, respectively, former reporter and staff member of the now
\ndefunct Tempo magazine, before they joined the alliance. Dagang
\nwas a member of the AJI's office staff, the source said.<\/p>\n
\"We do not know the two other persons but we are sure that
\nthey are not AJI members; nor do they have anything to do with
\nthe bulletin,\" the source, who requested anonymity, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
According to Nurfauzi, all of the five people were arrested by
\npolice detectives at the three-star Wisata International Hotel in
\nCentral Jakarta on Thursday evening after an Halal bi Halal
\n(Moslem gathering after the Idul Fitri) party held by the
\njournalists' alliance.<\/p>\n
\"We have laws in this country which all of us have to obey,\"
\nsaid the colonel.<\/p>\n
He said one such law required all news media to have a
\ngovernment-issued publishing permit, known as an SIUPP.<\/p>\n
\"We, therefore, carried out our operation last night on the
\nbasis of the available written law,\" said Nurfauzi, who was
\naccompanied at the press conference by City Police spokesman Lt.
\nCol. Bambang Haryoko. Nurfauzi said that similar arrests had been
\ncarried out recently against a number of members of the Pijar
\nfoundation. The Pijar foundation is a non-government human rights
\ngroup.<\/p>\n
A statement released by the AJI yesterday said that Taufik,
\nthe group's secretary general, had been arrested along with AJI's
\ntreasurer, Liston P. Siregar. The statement said that Danang, an
\nAJI clerical worker and Fitri, a university student, neither of
\nwhom were members of the AJI, had been arrested. Outspoken
\nlegislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas of the United Development Party
\nhad also been held in police custody for several hours, the
\nstatement said.<\/p>\n
The statement, signed by AJI chairman Dhea Prekasha Yoedha,
\nsaid that the five had been seized from the front of the hotel at
\nabout 9:30 p.m., or half an hour after the conclusion of the
\ngathering, by about 30 police officers.<\/p>\n
Bintang was among many noted figures attending the gathering.
\nOther guests included lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution; human rights
\nactivist, H.J.C. Princen; and Asmara Nababan, a member of the
\ngovernment-sponsored National Commission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
According to Nurfauzi, police had not arrested Bintang but the
\nlegislator had \"asked the officers to be allowed to accompany the
\nother (arrested) persons.\"<\/p>\n
Bintang told a separate press conference yesterday that he had
\nbeen trying to mediate between the police officers and the
\ndetainees and had asked to accompanied those arrested to police
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
The legislator said that they had all left the police
\nheadquarters at about 2 a.m. when there were no police officers
\nin the interrogation room.<\/p>\n
Nurfauzi said: \"They should have waited us because,
\ncoincidentally, we had a lot of things to do last night.\"<\/p>\n
Three hours later, Taufik was picked up again by police
\nofficers from his home, after a warrant for his arrest had been
\npresented to his wife, according to the AJI statement.<\/p>\n
\"There will be more information soon after we have completed
\nour study of this case, later,\" Nurfauzi said.<\/p>\n
Director of the Jakarta Chapter of the Legal Aid Institute,
\nLuhut M.P. Pangaribuan, said yesterday that he had sent a letter
\nto the national police chief protesting against the arrest of the
\nfive people. (bsr\/imn)<\/p>",
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